Catch Reports
Harvey versus Harvey!!
Posted in Catch Reports on 31st January 2008Dan Harvey was invited along as a guest to fish for an afternoon on the prolific Springwood Pool Fishery in Somerset, and what a fruitful session it turned out to be! Just a couple of hours into the session ‘Harvey’ (as he is affectionately known!) received a violent take on his left hand rod, and after a hard fought battle eventually slipped the net under one of the lake’s biggest residents - would you believe it, a fish called ‘Harvey’!!! (Not named after him incidentally!)
The big mirror pulled the scales around to 35lb 8oz and was a personal best for Dan. Furthermore, it fell just a matter of days after his best mate, Lee Willmott, had smashed the lake record with a different fish of 35lb 12oz! (See above) Once again, Essential’s Winterised Shellfish B5 boilies in conjunction with matching B5 pellets were responsible for the downfall of yet another big winter fish – awesome story, awesome bait!
Boilie Paste
Mark Stubbles with yet another fine cold water carp. Mark is an extremely succesful and consistent angler and instinctively knows the rewards little edges can bring.
Many anglers tend to overlook the advantages that paste’s can give. Throughout the colder months I nearly always wrap a thin layer of paste around my hook bait. This not only gives the bait a better ‘leak off’ in terms of attraction as the paste slowly dissipates, but also gives the hook bait a completely different texture.
Paste is also an essential requirement if you prefer to make your own cork ball pop-ups or balanced baits. A 10mm cork ball with approx 3mm of paste wrapped around it will give you a nice balanced 16mm hook bait. To make pop-ups however, you will need to wrap a thinner layer of paste around the cork. I find that a 12mm cork ball with approx 1.5mm of paste wrapped around the outside creates pop-ups buoyant enough for most presentations.
Top Tip
We make the paste soft enough for most applications, but if you find the paste starting to dry out a little, just dampen it down with a ‘Bait Glug’ or a ‘Liquid Food’ and re-mould together. (Rinse hands in warm water first)
If you need to leave the paste standing for any length of time, make sure you wrap it up in cling film otherwise it can quickly dry up. It will be fine to wrap up in cling film and leave in the fridge for 24 hours if needed.
